Calladia Cunnington curses the day she met Astaroth the demon, but when he shows up memoryless, why does she find him so helpless . . . and sort of hot?
Calladia Cunnington knows she's rough around the edges, despite being the heir to one of small-town Glimmer Falls' founding witch families. While her gym obsession is a great outlet for her anxieties and anger, her hot temper still gets the best of her and manifests in bar brawls. When Calladia saves someone from a demon attack one night, though, she's happy to put her magic and rage to good use . . . until she realizes the man she saved is none other than Astaroth, the ruthless demon who orchestrated a soul bargain on her best friend.
Astaroth is a legendary soul bargainer and one of the nine members of the demon high council--except he can't remember any of this. Suffering from amnesia after being banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn't know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the muscular, angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch who saved him hates him so much.
Unable to leave anyone in such a vulnerable state--even the most despicable demon--Calladia grudgingly decides to help him. (Besides, punching an amnesiac would be in poor taste.) The two set out on an uneasy road trip to find the witch who might be able to restore Astaroth's memory so they can learn how to defeat Moloch. Calladia vows that once Astaroth is cured, she'll kick his ass, but the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth . . . and maybe she doesn't want him to recover his memories, after all.
Calladia Cunnington knows she's rough around the edges, despite being the heir to one of small-town Glimmer Falls' founding witch families. While her gym obsession is a great outlet for her anxieties and anger, her hot temper still gets the best of her and manifests in bar brawls. When Calladia saves someone from a demon attack one night, though, she's happy to put her magic and rage to good use . . . until she realizes the man she saved is none other than Astaroth, the ruthless demon who orchestrated a soul bargain on her best friend.
Astaroth is a legendary soul bargainer and one of the nine members of the demon high council--except he can't remember any of this. Suffering from amnesia after being banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn't know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the muscular, angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch who saved him hates him so much.
Unable to leave anyone in such a vulnerable state--even the most despicable demon--Calladia grudgingly decides to help him. (Besides, punching an amnesiac would be in poor taste.) The two set out on an uneasy road trip to find the witch who might be able to restore Astaroth's memory so they can learn how to defeat Moloch. Calladia vows that once Astaroth is cured, she'll kick his ass, but the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth . . . and maybe she doesn't want him to recover his memories, after all.
Titel: A Demon's Guide To Wooing a Witch (Glimmer Falls #2)
Author: Sarah Hawley
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Expected Publication Date: 11/28/23
Review:
I want to than Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I truly enjoyed the first Glimmer Falls book. It was amusing and sexy and just plain fun. I was excited to see this next book come up and even more excited to read Astaroth's story. Because, truly, I was not a fan of his at all in A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon. I kind of wanted to punch him in the face. Maybe have one of the witches toss him again. But, given that Hawley chose to write his and Calladia's story, I knew I'd have to give her the benefit of the doubt. Because there is nothing better than an author taking a villain and making them into a character you love.
This story picks up very soon after the previous one ends. Do you have to read the previous one to read this? Well, that kind of depends. The story can definitely be independently read but you might be lost a bit with the supporting cast and their background that lead to everyone disliking Astaroth. I'm happy I had the background to be able to understand the story better.
The story opens with us meeting Calladia. We met her previously, as Mariel's friend, but we didn't get too much background on her. I love how independent and fierce she is. I love how she embraces her more masculine side (I was always a tomboy). And I love how she takes what she wants and doesn't even blink for anyone who might look at her funny. She spunky and funny and strong. But she also has a side that's been marred by her mother, who treats her like a pawn to further her political career. Calladia will have none of it, though. As for Astaroth, he's not at all what I expected. I wasn't sure I could turn my hatred of him around because in the previous book he was everything I despised in a villain. Is he cocky? For sure. But the author chose to block his memories, so he's really starting fresh with learning who he is. His revelations and growth are exponential, and not in an inorganic way. And the cause he chooses to fight for is very worthy of me changing my mind. Hawley chose the perfect way to endear the reader to him, and to help him become more than what he seemed in the prior installment of this series.
Hawley chooses to weave a good amount of banter into this story. This is what kept me wanting to turn pages. It drove the relationship between all the characters, morphing their hatred of a demon they thought most terrible, into friendships that swelled my heart. This was especially fun during the sexy scenes. But there are also emotional highs and lows which lend a more serious tone and move the book forward. The story itself, a fight for rights and a path to redemption, was great. The author does a great job of taking something that is politically charged and weaving it through the story line. I love how the author took demons and turned our understanding of who they are (especially Lilath) into those we look at quite differently.
If you're looking for a great paranormal enemies to lovers story, I highly recommend jumping into this series.
Author:
Sarah Hawley is an author of romance and fantasy novels. She was a winner of RevPit 2018, and her short stories and satirical articles have been published by Hooked, Slackjaw, The Belladonna Comedy, and Points in Case. She co-hosted the Wicked Wallflowers Club podcast about romance fiction, which was featured on Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List” as “a compelling reminder of why the oft-dismissed genre is a real force in cultural conversations about consent and desire.”
Sarah has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
Sarah has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
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